Pirate - pirate (English spelling)

Japanese: 海賊 - かいぞく（英語表記）pirate

A person who, for personal purposes, acts on the seas that threaten the safety of other voyages. Pirates are called enemies of mankind in general (hostis humani generis), and under international law, as an exception to the jurisdiction of flag states (states of registry) based on the freedom of the high seas, any country has been allowed to capture pirates on the high seas and bring them to its own country for punishment. According to the 1958 Convention on the High Seas and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, piracy is defined as unlawful acts of violence, detention, or plunder committed by crew members or passengers of private ships or aircraft against ships or aircraft, or persons or property on board, on the high seas or in any place not subject to the jurisdiction of any country, for personal purposes, and instigation and aiding in such acts are also included in piracy. In addition, any country's warships, military aircraft, or other authorized government ships and aircraft can seize pirate ships or aircraft (regardless of nationality) on the high seas, and the country to which the warship belongs can decide on the punishment.

[Mizukami Chiyuki]

This type of piracy has been seen since ancient times, along with the history of ship navigation, and in addition to simple individual pirates who aimed to plunder cargo, there were various groups of pirates organized according to the political, economic, social, and military circumstances of each era and region. Some were part of trade or war, and some were protected or supported by the state, and they are deeply connected to the history of the country or region, and have aspects that cannot be governed by a single fixed image.

[Matsumura Takeshi]

Europe

Ancient Mediterranean Pirates

Western piracy is as old as history, and pirates were already lurking in the Mediterranean Sea during the heyday of ancient Egypt, aiming for its wealth. It is said that the legendary Cretan king Minos wiped out pirates and built a maritime kingdom, and in the 15th century BC, the Achaeans destroyed the Cretan civilization, attacking Egyptian and Phoenician merchant ships and cities and stealing their wealth. The Aegean Sea, with its many islands and bays and inlets, was a perfect place for piracy for the Achaeans who settled there. As Greek polises began to flourish in the Balkans, pirates expanded their activities to this area as well, and in the 6th century BC, Polycrates, the tyrant of Samos, who had as many as 40 galleys and was known as the leader of pirates, appeared. When Athens reached its peak in the 5th century BC and led the Delian League with a powerful navy, pirates were suppressed, but when Athens' power declined in the 4th century BC, they became rampant again.

Rome, a land-based nation, employed pirates to fight against the naval power Carthage during the Punic Wars (3rd to 2nd century BC). The Carthaginians, whose country had been destroyed, joined the pirates, and soon piracy spread to the Western Mediterranean, threatening Rome's maritime trade, which had taken control of the surrounding area. Food ships in particular were frequently attacked, and Rome frequently suffered food shortages. Caesar was once captured by pirates when he was young, and by that time the rampage of pirates had become particularly severe. Finally, in 67 BC, Caesar's rival Pompey used a scheme to kill about 10,000 people and capture about 20,000 others, wiping out the pirates. After that, the first emperor Augustus built up his navy, and for a time the Mediterranean became a peaceful "our sea" for Rome.

[Matsumura Takeshi]

Medieval Northern Pirates

Medieval Western European countries suffered under the Viking invasions from the end of the 8th century. Using light, long-necked, shallow-bottomed boats, they invaded not only the coasts but also the rivers inland, stealing the treasures of churches and nobles, the crops and livestock of farmers, and burning down towns and villages. Their activities subsided for the time being in the latter half of the 11th century, but when commerce in the North Sea and the Baltic Sea became active in response to the eastward trade in the Mediterranean, remnants of the Vikings and other pirates regained their strength and threatened merchant ships from their base on the island of Gotland off the coast of Sweden. German cities then formed an alliance to organize armed fleets for self-defense. In other words, pirates were one of the factors behind the formation of the Hanseatic League.

[Matsumura Takeshi]

Barbary Corsairs

In the Mediterranean, piracy made a comeback as the Roman Empire began to disintegrate, and then in the 9th century, Muslims who had advanced from the Arabian Peninsula occupied Mediterranean islands and ravaged southern France and Italy. Later, as trade between Europe and Asia (Eastern trade) flourished through the Crusades and the Mediterranean Sea prospered as a trade route, pirates became even more active, aiming for that wealth. These Muslims were based on the Mediterranean coast of North Africa, known as the Barbary Coast, and were joined by the Moors who had been driven out of the Iberian Peninsula during the Reconquista at the end of the Middle Ages, and in the early 16th century, the brothers Uruji and Hayreddin organized a kind of pirate kingdom.

They especially attacked Spanish ships and seized Tunisia, which was the territory of King of Spain (and Holy Roman Emperor) Charles I. The king repeatedly tried to suppress the pirates, but was unsuccessful because the Ottoman Empire and other Islamic powers were behind them. In 1571, the Spanish fleet finally defeated the combined Turkish and Barbary corsair fleet in the Battle of Lepanto, and although the Turkish power weakened after that, the pirates quickly recovered and continued to attack merchant ships and sell captured Christians as slaves. Cervantes, the Spaniard famous for writing Don Quixote, was one of the slaves. Then, in the early 17th century, they learned how to build large ships and advanced into the Atlantic Ocean, and on the other hand, various people other than Muslims joined the pirates, and the Barbary Coast became an international pirate base. However, as European countries established absolutist systems and strengthened their military power on land and sea, they gradually came to be seen as a common enemy, and in the second half of the 17th century, France and England frequently dispatched punitive fleets to suppress them, and their activities steadily declined thereafter. Nevertheless, their small-scale piracy continued for nearly two centuries.

[Matsumura Takeshi]

Early modern privateers

Medieval Europe was a society with decentralized power, and it was unclear whether the responsibility for maintaining order lay with the king or with local nobles. This was one of the reasons that pirates were allowed to run rampant, but in the 16th and 17th centuries, as absolutism took hold, nations were established in both name and reality, and the king became responsible for maintaining law and order. On the other hand, international conflicts intensified over the so-called "geographical discoveries" and the subsequent race to acquire colonies. Against the backdrop of these changing circumstances, the nature of piracy also changed.

At that time, Spain had secured vast colonies in Central and South America and monopolized their wealth, but it was the island nation of England that challenged them. Since the Middle Ages, pirates and people like them had been living in the southwest of England, because the English Channel controlled the passage connecting the Atlantic Ocean and the Baltic Sea. When Spain began to bring in wealth from Central and South America, they started to attack it. In particular, during the Elizabethan era (1558-1603) in the second half of the 16th century, Hawkins, Drake and others made expeditions to the Caribbean and the coasts of Central and South America, raiding Spanish colonies and ships and stealing treasure, infuriating King Philip II of Spain, and contributing to the invasion of the Spanish Armada in 1588. During that invasion, they also contributed to the victory as commanders and captains of the British fleet. As can be seen from this, the "pirates" of that time were not lawless people who attacked anyone they could get their hands on, but rather had the character of a kind of auxiliary naval force. At that time, if a king's treasure was stolen by pirates from a certain country, the king would issue a privateering permit to the captain, which allowed him to attack any ship or port of the same country and take back the same amount of treasure that was stolen, and during wartime this became a license to attack enemy ships and ports. Therefore, privateering should be distinguished from piracy, which is an indiscriminate attack, but since the distinction between wartime and peacetime was not clear at the time, privateering began to be used as an excuse to attack in peacetime and steal from friendly countries and their own ships, and it became difficult to distinguish it from piracy.

[Matsumura Takeshi]

Buccaneer

In the 17th century, the Caribbean was a route for Spanish merchant ships traveling between the home country and the colonies, and with its countless islands of unclear ownership, it was a perfect hunting ground for pirates. As a result, it attracted many Englishmen who had been expelled by the pro-Spanish policies of King James I (reigned 1603-1625), as well as French and Dutch Protestants. They were called Baccaneers, and their biggest strongholds were the island of Tortu for the French and Jamaica for the English, but they sometimes conducted raids together. The British, French, and Dutch governments used them as auxiliary naval forces in the struggle for colonies in the region, and tacitly approved of their activities by issuing privateering licenses through colonial governors.

However, thanks to their efforts, the main islands were divided and claimed, and the British colony of Jamaica and other islands brought great wealth to the mother country through the production of sugar and tobacco, while at the same time the naval power of each country improved. As a result, the buccaneers became less useful to the mother country, and their presence, which often hindered trade, became a nuisance and they began to be controlled. A typical example of this was when Britain appointed Sir Henry Morgan (1635?-1688), who was more of a pirate than a privateer captain, as Lieutenant Governor of Jamaica in 1665 and had him put down pirates by using poison to kill them.

Thus, from the end of the 17th century to the beginning of the 18th century, they gradually disappeared into obscurity, a trend exacerbated by the fact that the English and French buccaneers, who had often cooperated as allies, came to oppose each other during the War of Spanish Succession (1701-1714). For a while, lone-wolf pirates who ravaged various places could still be seen, such as Kidd, who was sent to suppress pirates but ended up becoming a pirate himself, and Edward Teach (Blackbeard) (d. 1718), who was feared for his daring plundering and then died a heroic death, but at least in Europe and the United States, they gradually disappeared, and the main stage for piracy shifted to the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean.

[Matsumura Takeshi]

Literature and piracy

Pirates are often featured in literature, as they are wrapped in the romance of the sea and inspire the spirit of adventure. Defoe, author of the voyage-at-large novel "Robinson Crusoe," wrote "Singleton the Pirate" (1720), and the 19th-century poet Byron wrote a work called "The Corsair" (1814). Additionally, the treasures that are said to have been left behind by pirate leaders are also a popular literary theme, as they are fun to solve. Poe's "The Gold-Bug" (1843) and Stevenson's "Treasure Island" (1883) are two notable examples.

[Matsumura Takeshi]

Islam

Pirates have been rampant in the Arabian coast since ancient times, and the Holy Quran also mentions "the king who plunders all ships" (Chapter 18, Verse 79). The island of Perim at the entrance to the Red Sea and the island of Socotra in the Arabian Sea were also famous as pirate bases, but the area from Qatar to Cape Musandam on the Gulf (Arabian Gulf = Persian Gulf) was once called the Pirate Coast, and the name Jawasmi, which was given to the inhabitants of this area, was another name for pirates, and it was said that "their livelihood was piracy and their pleasure was murder." There are records of frequent suppression of pirates from around the 7th century BC. Their harm did not cease even in the Islamic era, but since 1818 the British dealt a heavy blow to them and concluded a truce (Truce) with the chiefs of the pirates, and since then it has been called the Trucial Coast.

The Barbary corsairs settled in the coastal areas of Tunisia, Algeria, and parts of Morocco in North Africa and ravaged European ships traveling in the Western Mediterranean and the coastal regions. Their fast ships were called corsaro in Italian, and so in Arabic pirates came to be called Kursan.

[Shinji Maeshima]

Japan

This refers to the maritime clans that existed from ancient times through the Middle Ages and early modern times, who based their livelihoods on various maritime interests, and who were active in ports, coasts along shipping routes, and islands that prospered with the development of maritime transportation, and who were always in conflict with the rulers of the time.

In 756 (Tenpyo Shoho 8), the Ritsuryo government, focusing on maritime transport, which could carry large quantities of goods, decided to transport rice from the Sanyo and Nankai regions by sea, and thereafter, miscellaneous rice, tribute, and other goods from the Kyushu region were also actively sent to the center via the Seto Inland Sea. The development of maritime traffic brought prosperity to the ports of the countries along the route, but it also became a major factor in the outbreak of piracy.

Among ancient pirates, Fujiwara no Sumitomo is well known for raising the flag of rebellion against the imperial state from Hiburi Island in the Uwa Sea in 939 (Tengyo 2) (Tengyo Rebellion). However, even before that, during the Jogan era (859-877), there were many incidents of people traveling being killed, public and private property being plundered, and ships transporting government rice being attacked to steal the rice and kill the peasants aboard. Sumitomo was defeated by Tachibana Toyasu, a guard envoy from Iyo, in June 941, but the pirate group led by Sumitomo was centered around wealthy ronin, large and small, who were characterized by a high degree of mobility in the western part of the country, and was joined by their subordinates and poor farmers and fishermen living under the Ritsuryo system.

Since the Middle Ages, pirates in the Ise, Shima, and Hizen regions have been well known, but here we will look at the case of the Nojima Murakami clan of the Seto Inland Sea. In 1349 (Shohei 4, Sadawa 5) during the Nanboku-cho period, when the affairs of Toji's manor of Yuge Island stagnated due to interference from various domestic and foreign powers, the Nojima Murakami clan, at the request of Toji, accepted a large guard fee and took on the role of guarding the island. There was also a custom of pirates collecting guard fees at Ominato in Ise and Lake Biwa in Omi, and the guard fee became an important source of revenue for the pirates. Around the Eisho era (1504-1521), the Nojima Murakami clan was given the position of governor of Shiwaku Island in Sanuki, eastern Seto Inland Sea, by the Kanrei (regent), Hosokawa Takakuni, and during the Sengoku period, they served as pilots for the Mori clan of Aki and the Otomo clan of Bungo. Nojima, the base of the Nojima Murakami clan, was located at a strategic point on the sea with a view of the Hiuchi Nada and Hanaguri Seto. Luis Frois described the Nojima clan as a pirate lord: "The pirates have a large castle, many subordinates, territory, and ships that are constantly deployed, and they call themselves Nojima-dono, and are very powerful. Therefore, the coastal areas of other countries are afraid of them and pay them annual taxes." "He gave them a silk flag bearing his coat of arms and signature, with instructions to show it if they encountered any suspicious ships. This was the greatest kindness he could bestow, and although there were many pirates in each region who did not recognize him as their master, it was he whom sailors feared most," the book vividly describes.

In 1585 (Tensho 13), when Toyotomi Hideyoshi advanced into the Seto Inland Sea, the pirate lord Nojima Murakami left Nojima Castle and moved to Suo, territory of the Mori clan. He was eventually organized into the Mori clan's Funategumi (shipmen's group), and thus gave up his life of piracy.

Thus, pirates initially maintained an independent position, and were most active during the civil war between the Northern and Southern Courts, but as the control of the coastal areas gradually progressed under the control of shugo daimyo, sengoku daimyo, and early modern daimyo, they lost the basis for their existence, and, due to their own nature, they were generally incorporated into the daimyo's naval organizations, the kazokushu, kegoshu, and funateshu, and transformed into feudal vassals. In July 1588 (Tensho 16), Hideyoshi issued the "ban on pirate ships," which denied the existence of pirates and they disappeared.

[Takehisa Udagawa]

China

In China, the father and son Zheng Zhilong and Chenggong, from the late Ming and early Qing dynasties in the 17th century, and Zheng Yisao from the early 19th century, are well known. Zheng Zhilong was from Fujian Province and rose to power through smuggling, becoming a powerful maritime force along the mainland coast, and in 1628 he served the Ming dynasty and seized maritime power. Chenggong, who inherited his father's wealth, traded with Luzon and other southern regions, fought against the Qing army to restore the Ming dynasty, advanced into Xiamen and Jiangnan, and in 1661 drove out the Dutch and took possession of Taiwan. Zheng Yisao made the coast of Guangdong, which has a complex coastline, her base, and owned a fleet of over 500 ships, large and small, equipped with many cannons.She collected taxes from coastal villages as a source of revenue, and often fought against the Qing Dynasty's navy.

[Takehisa Udagawa]

"Complete Collection of World Non-Fiction 48" (1963, Chikuma Shobo) ▽ "The Pirates, by Hubert Deschamps, translated by Tanabe Sadanosuke (Hakusuisha, Quessais-jes Bunko)" ▽ "Pirates of the Caribbean, by Georges Bron, translated by Miwa Hidehiko (1973, Hayakawa Publishing)" ▽ "The History of Pirates, by Jacek Machovski, translated by Kimura Takeo (1975, Kawade Shobo Shinsha)" ▽ "The Stage of Maritime History, by Beseda Tatsuo (1979, Misuzu Shobo)" ▽ "The Genealogy of Pirates, by Beseda Tatsuo (1980, Seibundo Shinkosha)" ▽ "The Rise and Fall of the Barbary Corsairs, by Stanley Lane Poole, translated by Maejima Shinji (1981, Libro Port)" ▽ "The History of British Pyrates, Volumes 1 and 2, by Charles Johnson, translated by Asahina Ichiro (1983, Libro Port)" ▽ "Pirates of the Caribbean" by John Eskemeling, translated by Haruo Ishijima (1983, Seibundo Shinkosha) " ▽ "Japanese Pirates" by Takehisa Udagawa (1983, Seibundo Shinkosha)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

海上において、私的目的で、他の航海の安全を脅かす行為をする者のこと。海賊は、人類一般の敵（hostis humani generis）といわれ、国際法上では、公海自由に基づく旗国（船籍国）管轄の例外として、いずれの国も公海上で海賊を捕らえ自国に引致し処罰することが認められてきた。1958年の公海に関する条約および1982年の国連海洋法条約によれば、海賊行為piracyは、私有の船舶・航空機の乗組員・旅客が、私的目的のために、公海またはいずれの国の管轄権にも服さない場所にある船舶・航空機またはその中の人・財産に対して行う不法な暴力行為、抑留または略奪行為をいい、その教唆、幇助(ほうじょ)なども海賊行為に含まれる。また、いずれの国の軍艦、軍用航空機、権限ある他の政府船舶・航空機も、海賊船舶・航空機（国籍を問わない）を公海上で拿捕(だほ)することができ、その軍艦等の所属国は刑罰を決定できる。

［水上千之］

　この種の海賊行為は船の航行の歴史とともに古くからみられ、積み荷の略奪をねらう単純な個人的海賊のほかに、時代、地域によって、それぞれの政治、経済、社会、軍事的事情のもとに組織された海賊の諸集団があった。それは、貿易や戦争の一部であったり、国家の保護、援助を受けたものもあり、国、地域の歴史に深くかかわっていて、固定した一つのイメージでは律することのできない面をもっている。

［松村　赳］

ヨーロッパ

古代の地中海海賊

西洋の海賊は歴史とともに古く、すでに古代エジプトの盛時にその富をねらう海賊が地中海に出没していた。また、伝説的なクレタの王ミノスは海賊を掃討して海洋王国を築いたと伝えられており、紀元前15世紀、そのクレタ文明を滅ぼしたアカイア人はエジプトやフェニキアの商船や都市を襲い、富を奪った。島が多く湾や入り江に恵まれているエーゲ海は、ここに住み着いたアカイア人などにとって海賊行為にまことに好適な条件を備えていた。やがてバルカン半島にギリシア人のポリスが栄えるようになると、海賊はこの方面にも活動範囲を広げ、前6世紀には、40隻ものガレー船をもち海賊の大頭目として知られるサモス島の僭主(せんしゅ)ポリクラテスも現れた。前5世紀アテネが全盛期を迎え、強力な海軍を備えてデロス同盟を指導するようになると、海賊も制圧されたが、前4世紀アテネの力が衰えると、ふたたびはびこった。

　陸軍国であったローマは、ポエニ戦争（前3～前2世紀）に際し海賊を雇って海軍国カルタゴに対抗したが、国を滅ぼされたカルタゴ人は海賊の仲間に加わり、まもなく海賊は西地中海にも広まって、周辺一帯を版図に収めたローマの海上貿易を脅かし、とくに食糧船が頻繁に襲われて、ローマはたびたび食糧難に陥った。また、カエサル（シーザー）は若いころ海賊の捕虜になったことがあるが、そのころには海賊の跋扈(ばっこ)がとくに甚だしくなっており、ついに、カエサルのライバルとなるポンペイウスが、前67年、計略によって約1万人を殺害、約2万人を捕虜にして海賊を一掃した。そのあと、初代皇帝アウグストゥスが海軍を整備したこともあって、しばらく地中海はローマにとって平和な「われらの海」になった。

［松村　赳］

中世の北方海賊

中世の西ヨーロッパ諸国は、8世紀末ごろからバイキングの侵寇(しんこう)に痛めつけられた。首が長く底の浅い軽快な舟を操る彼らは、海岸だけでなく河川沿いに内陸にまで侵攻し、教会や貴族の財宝、農民の作物・家畜を奪い、町や村を焼き払った。彼らの活動は11世紀後半にはいちおう収まるが、その後、地中海の東方貿易に呼応して北海、バルト海でも通商が盛んになってくると、ふたたびバイキングの残党その他の海賊が勢いを盛り返し、スウェーデン沖のゴトランド島を根拠地に商船を脅かした。そこでドイツの諸都市は自衛のため同盟を結んで武装船団を組むようになった。すなわち、ハンザ同盟の結成には海賊が一因をなしていたのである。

［松村　赳］

バルバリア海賊

地中海では、ローマ帝国が解体に向かうとともに海賊が復活し、続いて9世紀ごろには、アラビア半島から進出したイスラム教徒が地中海の島々を占領して南フランスやイタリアを荒らした。その後、十字軍の過程を通じてヨーロッパとアジアの交易（東方貿易）が盛んになり、地中海が通商路として栄えるようになると、その富をねらって海賊の動きも一段と活発になった。彼らは、北アフリカの地中海岸いわゆるバルバリア海岸を根城とするイスラム教徒で、中世末期の国土回復戦争（レコンキスタ）によってイベリア半島を追われたムーア人がこれに合流し、16世紀初めウルージとハイレディンという兄弟によって一種の海賊王国に組織された。

　彼らはとくにスペイン船を襲い、スペイン王（兼神聖ローマ皇帝）カルロス1世の版図であったチュニジアを奪ったので、王はたびたび海賊討伐を試みたが、彼らの背後にはオスマン帝国などのイスラム勢力が控えていたので成功しなかった。1571年、ようやくスペイン艦隊はレパントの海戦でトルコとバルバリア海賊の連合艦隊を撃破し、以後トルコの勢いは衰えたものの、海賊のほうはすぐに立ち直り、相変わらず商船を襲うとともに、捕らえたキリスト教徒を奴隷として売買した。『ドン・キホーテ』の作者として有名なスペイン人セルバンテスも奴隷となった一人であった。そして17世紀初めには大型船の建造を覚えて大西洋にまで進出し、他方ではイスラム教徒以外にもさまざまな人間が加わって、バルバリア海岸は国際的な海賊根拠地の観を呈した。しかし、ヨーロッパ諸国が絶対主義体制を整え、陸海の軍事力を充実させてくると、彼らはしだいに各国共通の敵とみなされるようになり、17世紀後半フランスやイギリスがたびたび討伐艦隊を派遣したので、それ以降は衰退の一途をたどった。それでも、彼らの小規模な海賊行為はなお2世紀近く続けられた。

［松村　赳］

近世の私掠船

中世のヨーロッパは権力分散の社会で、秩序維持の責任は国王にあるのか地方の貴族にあるのかはっきりしない面があり、それが海賊の跳梁(ちょうりょう)を許した一因であったが、16、17世紀になり、絶対主義体制が確立してくると、名実ともに国家が成立し、国王が治安維持の責任者になった。一方では、いわゆる「地理上の発見」とそれに続く植民地獲得競争をめぐって国際紛争が激しくなった。このような情勢の変化を背景に、海賊のあり方も変わってきた。

　当時、中南米に広大な植民地を確保し、その富を独占していたのはスペインであったが、それに挑戦したのは島国イギリスであった。イギリス海峡は大西洋とバルト海を結ぶ通路を扼(やく)しているため、中世以来イギリス南西部には海賊やそれに近い者が住み着いていたが、彼らは、スペインが中南米の富を運び込むようになると、これを襲い始めた。とくに16世紀後半のエリザベス時代（1558～1603）には、ホーキンズ、ドレークらがカリブ海や中南米沿岸に遠征してスペイン人の植民市や船を襲撃し財宝を奪って、スペイン王フェリペ2世を激怒させ、1588年の無敵艦隊来襲の一因となるとともに、その来襲時にはイギリス艦隊の司令官や艦長として勝利に貢献した。こうしたことからもわかるように、当時の「海賊」は相手かまわず手当たりしだいに襲う無法者ではなく、一種の補助海軍力という性格をもっていた。当時は、ある国の海賊に財宝を奪われた場合、国王は船長に、同じ国のどの船でも港でもよいから襲って、奪われたのと同額の財宝を奪い返してよい、という私掠(しりゃく)許可証を発行し、戦時中にはそれが敵船・敵港襲撃の許可証になった。したがって私掠行為は、見境なく襲う海賊行為とは本来区別されるべきものであるが、このころは戦時と平時の別がはっきりしなかったこともあり、私掠許可証を口実に平時にも襲ったり、友好国や自国の船から奪ったりするようになって、海賊行為と区別がつかなくなっていった。

［松村　赳］

バカニーア

17世紀のカリブ海は、本国と植民地の間を往復するスペイン商船の通り道であったうえ、領有のはっきりしない島が無数にあって、海賊にはかっこうの猟場であった。そのため、ジェームズ1世（在位1603～1625）の親スペイン政策によって追放されたイギリス人をはじめ、フランスやオランダの新教徒が集まった。彼らはバカニーアBaccaneerとよばれ、フランス人はトルチュ島、イギリス人はジャマイカ島を最大の巣窟(そうくつ)としたが、襲撃は共同で行うこともあった。イギリス、フランス、オランダの本国政府は、この地方をめぐる植民地争奪戦に彼らを補助海軍力として利用し、植民地総督を通じて私掠許可証を交付、その活動を黙認した。

　しかし、彼らの活躍もあって、おもな島々が分割領有され、イギリス領のジャマイカをはじめ、その島々が砂糖やタバコの生産によって本国に大きな富をもたらすようになるとともに、他方で各国の海軍力が整備されてくると、本国にとってバカニーアの利用価値は薄れ、往々にして通商を妨げる彼らの存在はかえってじゃまになり、取り締まられるようになった。イギリスが1665年、私掠船長というよりは海賊のヘンリー・モーガンSir Henry Morgan（1635？―1688）をジャマイカ副総督に任命し、毒をもって毒を制するやり方で海賊鎮圧にあたらせたのは、その典型例であった。

　こうして、17世紀末から18世紀初めには彼らはしだいに影を潜め、スペイン継承戦争（1701～1714）の際、従来は仲間として協力しあうことの多かったイギリス人とフランス人のバカニーアが反目するに至ったことは、その傾向を助長した。そして、海賊討伐に派遣されながら自ら海賊に転落したキッドや、大胆な略奪で恐れられたあと壮絶な死を遂げた黒鬚(くろひげ)ティーチEdward Teach（Blackbeard）（1718没）のように、一匹狼(おおかみ)となって各地を荒らす海賊はまだしばらくはみられたが、少なくとも欧米ではしだいに姿を消し、海賊の中心舞台は紅海、インド洋方面に移っていった。

［松村　赳］

文学と海賊

海賊は、海洋のロマンに包まれているとともに、冒険心をかき立てるところがあるため、よく文学にも取り上げられている。漂流小説『ロビンソン・クルーソー』の著者デフォーは『海賊シングルトン』（1720）を書いているし、19世紀の詩人バイロンには『海賊』（1814）という作品がある。また、海賊の首領が残したと伝えられる財宝は、謎(なぞ)解きのおもしろさもあって、これも文学の主題によく使われる。ポーの『黄金虫(こがねむし)』（1843）やスティーブンソンの『宝島』（1883）はその代表例である。

［松村　赳］

イスラム

アラビア近海には古代から海賊が横行し、聖典コーランにも「すべての船舶を強奪する王」ということばがみえている（第18章79節）。紅海入口のペリム島、アラビア海のソコトラ島なども海賊の根拠地として有名であったが、とりわけガルフ（アラビア湾＝ペルシア湾）に臨むカタールからムサンダム岬に至る地方は昔は海賊海岸とよばれ、このへんの住民をよぶジャワスミという名は海賊の別名で、「その生業は海賊行為、快楽は殺人」とまでいわれた。前7世紀ころからその討伐がたびたび行われた記録がある。イスラム時代に入ってもその害はやまなかったが、1818年以来イギリス人がこれに痛撃を加え、海賊民の首長らと休戦（トルース）条約を結んだので、以来トルーシャル海岸とよばれた。

　また北アフリカのチュニジア、アルジェリア、およびモロッコの一部の海岸地方に住み着き、西地中海を往来する欧州船および沿海地方を荒らしたのがバルバリア海賊で、その快速船をイタリア語でコルサーロとよんだので、アラビア語でも海賊をクルサーンとよぶようになった。

［前嶋信次］

日本

古代から中世・近世の初頭にかけて海上の諸権益に生活の基盤を置き、海上交通の発達に伴って繁栄してくる港湾や航路筋の海辺、島々に拠(よ)って活動し、つねにその時代の支配者と対立した海の豪族をいう。

　律令(りつりょう)政府は756年（天平勝宝8）、大量の物資が運べる海上輸送に着目して、山陽・南海道諸国の舂米(つきよね)を海路で運ぶことを決め、その後、九州地方の雑米(ぞうまい)や調(ちょう)・庸(よう)も盛んに瀬戸内海を経由して中央に送られた。海上交通の発達は航路筋の諸国の港湾を繁栄させたが、一方で海賊発生の大きな要因となった。

　古代の海賊では、939年（天慶2）に宇和海にある日振(ひぶり)島に拠って王朝国家に反旗を翻した藤原純友(すみとも)が名高い（天慶(てんぎょう)の乱）。しかし、それ以前の貞観(じょうがん)年間（859～877）にも、往還の人々が殺害されたり、公私の雑物が略奪されたり、官米の運漕船が襲われて米が奪われ、乗組みの百姓が殺害される行為が多発している。猛威を振るった純友は941年6月、伊予の警固使橘遠保(たちばなのとおやす)に討たれたが、純友の率いた海賊集団は、西国に特徴的な浮動性の強い大小の富豪浪人が中心となり、彼らに従う従類と律令制下の貧しい農・漁民が加わったものであった。

　中世以後、伊勢(いせ)・志摩・肥前地方の海賊が著名であるが、ここでは瀬戸内海の野島村上氏（能島村上氏）の場合をみてみよう。南北朝の1349年（正平4・貞和5）、内外の諸勢力に妨害されて東寺(とうじ)の荘園(しょうえん)弓削(ゆげ)島の所務が停滞したとき、野島村上氏は東寺の要請を受けて高額な警固料を受け取って、警固の役目についている。伊勢の大湊(おおみなと)、近江(おうみ)の琵琶(びわ)湖でも海賊が警固料をとる風習があったが、まさに警固料は海賊の重要な財源となった。野島村上氏は永正(えいしょう)（1504～1521）ごろ、管領(かんれい)の細川高国(たかくに)から瀬戸内海東部讃岐(さぬき)の塩飽(しわく)島の代官職を与えられ、戦国時代には安芸(あき)の毛利(もうり)氏、豊後(ぶんご)の大友(おおとも)氏に依頼されて水先案内を務めている。野島村上氏の根拠地野島は燧灘(ひうちなだ)と鼻栗(はなぐり)瀬戸が眺望できる海上の要衝にあった。ルイス・フロイスは、海賊領主野島氏の姿を「海賊は同所に大なる城と多数の部下、領地及びたへず出動する船を有し能島殿と称して甚だ有力である。それで他の諸国の沿岸の地では、彼を恐れて毎年年貢を納めてゐる」。「彼はその紋章と署名のある絹の旗を与へ、疑はしい船に出合ったときこれを示すようにと伝へた。これは彼の与へ得る最大の好意で、各地方には彼を主君と認めざる海賊も多数あるが、航海者が最も恐れるのは彼である」と活写している。

　海賊領主の野島村上氏は1585年（天正13）豊臣秀吉(とよとみひでよし)の瀬戸内海進出によって、野島城を退去して、毛利氏の領国周防(すおう)に移り、やがて毛利氏の船手組(ふなてぐみ)に編成されて海賊の生活と縁を切った。

　このように海賊は初めは独立した立場を堅持し、南北朝内乱期にもっとも活躍するが、守護大名、戦国大名、近世大名などの海辺部支配が段階的に進むにつれて存立の基盤を失い、自身の性格から、大名の水軍組織である海賊衆、警固衆、船手衆に組み込まれて封建家臣へと転身する経緯をたどるのが一般的である。1588年（天正16）7月、秀吉の発布した「海上賊船禁止令」によって、海賊はその存在を否定されて姿を消した。

［宇田川武久］

中国

中国では17世紀の明(みん)末清(しん)初の鄭芝竜(ていしりゅう)・成功(せいこう)父子と19世紀初頭の鄭一嫂(ていいっそう)が名高い。鄭芝竜は福建省出身で、密貿易によって台頭、大陸沿岸一帯に強大な海上勢力を有して活動し、1628年には明朝に仕えて海上権を掌握した。父の財力を受けた成功は、ルソンなどの南洋諸地域と貿易し、明朝復興のため清の軍隊と戦い、厦門(アモイ)、江南に進出、1661年にはオランダ人を追って台湾を領有するなど活躍をした。鄭一嫂は、複雑な海岸線をもつ広東(カントン)の海辺を巣窟(そうくつ)とし、砲門多数を備えた大小500余艘(そう)の船団を保有し、沿岸の村々からは年貢を徴収して財源とし、しばしば清朝の水軍と戦った。

［宇田川武久］

『『世界ノンフィクション全集48』（1963・筑摩書房）』▽『ユベール・デシャン著、田辺貞之助訳『海賊』（白水社・文庫クセジュ）』▽『ジョルジュ・ブロン著、三輪秀彦訳『カリブの海賊史』（1973・早川書房）』▽『ヤツェク・マホフスキ著、木村武雄訳『海賊の歴史』（1975・河出書房新社）』▽『別枝達夫著『海事史の舞台』（1979・みすず書房）』▽『別枝達夫著『海賊の系譜』（1980・誠文堂新光社）』▽『スタンリー・レーン・プール著、前嶋信次訳『バルバリア海賊盛衰記』（1981・リブロポート）』▽『チャールズ・ジョンソン著、朝比奈一郎訳『イギリス海賊史』上下（1983・リブロポート）』▽『ジョン・エスケメリング著、石島晴夫訳『カリブの海賊』（1983・誠文堂新光社）』▽『宇田川武久著『日本の海賊』（1983・誠文堂新光社）』